Sessions Pulling Trump Toward Social Conservatism

There once was a time when Donald Trump looked like he was going to be the presidential candidate to finally move the Republican Party away from senseless obsessions over culture war issues. He seldom discussed LGBT issues or the drug war on the campaign trail; his campaign message was almost entirely protectionist economics and building a border wall.

Then along came Jeff Sessions.

Trump won the GOP nomination as a very moderate candidate, socially speaking. He said Caitlyn Jenner could use whatever bathroom she wanted in Trump Tower, he said he was “fine” with same-sex marriage and paid little attention to ramping up the war on drugs.

However, since taking office, it’s become clear that the social conservatives Trump has surrounded himself with are going to have a tremendous amount of pull with regard to where the administration goes on social issues.